A handwritten note penned by Steve Jobs is headed to the auction block. The note, written in 1974 by the then 19-year-old Jobs, offers tips on how Atari could improve the functionality of its World Cup Soccer arcade game. Jobs worked for Atari before co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976.“The present report, written for his supervisor Stephen Bristow, was meant to improve the functionality and fun of World Cup,” reads a description on Sotheby’s website.

The Steve Jobs biography that everyone has been anticipating will be available sooner than expected. Originally slated for a 2012 release, Simon & Shuster now reveals that the book by former CNN chairman and Time Magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson will be released October 24th.

Plus, Sony Pictures is already trying to buy the rights for the authorized biography so the studio can make a movie.

Apple’s board of directors announced last night that Steve Jobs has resigned as the company’s CEO, and Tim Cook has been named CEO. Jobs has taken a position as chairman of the board.

Although the news is shocking, it’s not entirely out of left field, as health problems had interfered with Jobs’ day-to-day duties with the company in recent years. In 2004, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and had surgery to remove the tumor, which was successful. However, due to his increasingly frail appearance and absences from Apple events, the state of his health was often under speculation.

George Orwell warned us about Big Brother, but little did he know it would come in the form of an Apple iPhone or 3G iPad. Sadly, developers have noticed that Steve Jobs and the guys installed tracking devices on all the new iPhones and iPads to record your whereabouts at all times.

Of course you, like many others, are wondering what implications this development has on your privacy. Why in the world does Apple need this information? Apple’s Product Security Team has yet to comment on this.

Apple’s iPad 2 launched last Friday in the U.S. International release was expected to follow shortly thereafter, but Apple has confirmed that it will delay the release of the iPad 2 in Japan, following the disastrous earthquake and tsunami.

A couple of weeks ago, Apple rolled out its daily newspaper, The Daily, for the iPad. Now, Apple has announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store – magazines, newspapers, videos, music, etc. It will have the same digital billing subscription service as The Daily.

The service will work the same way customers have purchased apps and in-app purchases.

Apple and The News Corp. today sent invitations to the launch of The Daily, an iPad only newspaper which will be unveiled at New York's Solomon Guggenheim Museum on February 2.

The Daily was originally set to launch on January 19, but technical glitches postponed the much-anticipated event. Steve Jobs, cheif executive of Apple, was scheduled to attend the first planned launch, but he will be unable to make the second due to a medical leave.

Many industry insiders are speculating that The Daily signals a change in the App store pay structure for newspapers and magazines which currently forces customers to purchase digital versions of print publications one at a time and pay newstand premium prices. Could a subscription option be underway? I hope so!

Apple just announced that CEO Steve Jobs will be taking a “medical leave of absence.

In a statement to employees this morning, Jobs wrote, “At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.”

The statement continued, “I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011. I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.”

Though it originally retailed for an ominous $666.66, a rare Apple computer fetched £133,250 pounds, or approximately $210,000, at a London auction on Tuesday (November 23).

The 1976 Apple-1 computer, built by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the garage of Job’s parents, was auctioned in its original form, which lacked a monitor, a keyboard, a power supply, or any protective casing. The rare computer did, however, include a pre-assembled motherboard, and the buyer, an Italian businessman, also received the computer’s original invoice, packaging, manual, and a sales letter signed by Steve Jobs. Wozniak, who attended the auction, also threw in an autographed letter.

A spokesman for Christie’s in London said the Apple-1 transaction was “a record for a personal computer sold at auction."